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its reality and its restoration to Israel. There was but one point about which there Could be any possible question—namely, the time of its restoration. And this is the only point dealt with in His reply. The time is not to be made known to men, but is re served to God alone. Witnessing is our concern; dates belong to God. Golden Text Illustration An American Indian going to Washing ton on diplomatic business for his tribe was asked what was the most wonderful thing he had seen. He did not mention the great Capitol, nor the Washington Monu ment, nor telephone, nor phonograph, nor telegraph. He said: “ This is the most won derful thing. White man knew about white man’s God one hundred years and never came to tell poor Indian—and it’s late now ; it’s late now.” The one fact that shows an amazing strangeness in human life is that it natu rally tells good news, except the good news of the Christ and His cross W-The Bottles o f Heaven, by R evilo .
BLACKBOARD LESSON
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W ord has been taken. The honored mar tyrs who have willingly laid down their lives for Christ on foreign fields were the victims, not of the people who have so ruthlessly slain them, but o f Satan whose bitter opposition against the preaching of the Word of God knows no bounds. The called ones went out to experience the hand of the Lord upon them (v. 12). The hand of the Lord fell upon the sor cerer and also upon the Roman official. The latter, we have every reason to hope, was a saved man, ;a trophy of grace—the result of some one’s witness as a Chris tian missionary. Points and Problems 1. “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?’’ In this' question, asked by the Lord’s chosen apostles (Acts 1:6), there is a whole nest o f assumptions. First, it assumes that there is a kingdom which rightfully be longs to the nation of Israel. Second, it assumes that this kingdom was not at the time of the question in the possession of Israel. Third, it assumes that the kingdom some day will be given to Israel. Fourth, it assumes that the kingdom, when it comes, will be in some real sense a restora tion o f the literal and historic kingdom. Fifth, it assumes that Jesus Christ is the supreme Arbiter in the affairs o f this king dom. These five things are assumed by the apostles as settled facts. They do not even ask abqut them. The only matter on which they confess ignorance is the time when these things shall come to pass. Is it to be “at this time” ? In the minds of the apostles nothing else was in question. 2. It should be understood at this point that a great host of commentators and in terpreters believe that the above-mentioned assumptions are all wrong and that the apostles’ question reveals a most astonish ing stupidity on their part The kingdom, these interpreters tell us, is wholly a spiritual affair, and the apostles seem to be still laboring under the material mis conceptions o f Jewish eschatology. With such interpreters I cannot agree. I am certain in my own mind that the apostles knew a great deal more about the nature o f the kingdom than can be known by any set o f men nineteen centuries removed from their day. They had been instructed for three years under the personal ministry of the King Himself, and had taken forty days of graduate instruction after He rose from the dead (Acts 1 :3). 3. The answer o f our Lord to the apostles’ question furnishes the infallible interpretation. "It is not fo r you to know the limes or the seasons’’ (v. 7). Not one of their assumptions is questioned. More than that, His silence puts the stamp of His approval upon every one of them, for Christ was not in the habit o f acquiescing in the errors of men. He corrected them when they were important. Therefore, with His chosen apostles, our Lord assumes the great settled facts o f the kingdom, such as
Sharing the Good News of Jesus A cts 1 :6-8; 13:1-12
Memory Verse: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16:15). Approach: Last week, we said that one of the ways that we show that we love a
person is by doing things for him. The Lord Jesus left a very special w o r k for His followers to do, that is, to tell the rest of the world about Him. L e s s o n S t o r y : Just before J e s u s left this earth, He said to His disci-, pies: “Ye shall re
ceive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you : and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Ju dea, and in Samaria, and unto the utter most part of the earth.” And after the Holy, Spirit did come, the disciples began -their work o f telling others about Christ. At first, they just stayed in Jerusalem. They had forgotten, perhaps, that Jesus had said they were to go to the uttermost part of the earth with the story. Then, lit tle by little, they went farther and farther away from home, telling the people about Jesus, until one day, when they were all gathered together praying,-the Holy Spirit made it known to them that certain ones should be separated and sent away to other lands to tell the people there the gospel story. So it was that Paul and Barnabas became missionaries. They made long journeys into far-away countries. Some times the people received them gladly and listened and believed; sometimes Paul and Barnabas were not treated well at all. They were beaten and put in prison. But always they went on, teaching and preach ing the Word. Today, there are many people whq, like Paul, have gone out to preach to people who have never heard off Christ before. We may not need to go away in order to tell this story. Some are called, as were Paul and Barnabas, to leave their homes.; others are called to stay at home and preach. But whether at home or far away, our work is to tell the story o f the Lord Jesus.
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